Swift



F. KLEIN SWIFT Aug. 13; 1935.

Filed Nov. 22, 1935 INVENTOR t on k ATTORNEY the following objects, in addition Patented Aug. 13, 1935 UNITED STATES SWIFT Frederick Klein, Ship-Eastwood Glen Rock, N. J., assignor to Corporation, Paterson,

N. J., a

corporation of New Jersey Application November 22, 1933, Serial No. 699,164

4 Claims.

This invention relates to collapsible swifts or reels for receiving yarn skeins and the like and it consists in certain improvements therein having to that of providing a swift of this class which shall be simple, inexpensive and rugged in construction, reliable and eflicient in operation and readily expanded or-contracted, to wit: That when the swift is extended a novel interlock shall take place between the hub and spokes of the swift resisting its collapse; that elasticity present in the swift shall in the expanded state thereof be effective to maintain tension on the skein as the windings become depleted and the consequent tendency thereof to slip rotatively on the swift increases; that there may be a wide disparity between the fully extended and'fullycollapsed state of the swift; and that the parts of the swift maybe readily assembled and disassembled and when disassembled adapted to be packed in small compass for shipping.

In the drawing, V Fig. 1 shows the improved swift generally in section in a plane coincident with its axis;

, Figs. 2 and 3 are .views of the swift partly in elevation and partly in section on line 2--2, Fig.

1, showing the swift collapsed and expanded,

respectively;

Fig. 4 is an enlarged section 'on'line l4, Fig. 3; and i i l i Fig. 5 shows the blank from which the clamp'is formed. I 1

I is an axially bored wooden barrel having one end formed with a central recess 2 and the other end dished, as at 3, so as to produce an endwise facing circumferential edge 3a which forms a bearing, as will appear. The barrel has peripheral end flanges 4 having opposed holes 5 equallyspaced around and paralleling the barrel axis. On the barrel is shown the usual weighted strap 6 to form a drag or brake for the swift.

Opposed to the ends of the barrel are centrally apertured caps and 1x, each preferably being a sheet metal disk respectively having flanges 8 and 8x, or cup-shaped, their disk portions bearing against the barrel ends (the right hand one resting against the edge 3a and so bridging the recess in the adjoining barrel end) and their flanges inturned to house the flanged ends of the barrel; the flanges have knobs 9 to afford hand-grips.

The central portion of each cap is inset so as to be received in the corresponding recess 2 or 3 and at the outside form a housing. The left-hand cap is fixed to the barrel, as by having spurs l0 driven into its end; the other cap is revoluble relatively to the barrel.

Aspindle l i having a fixed head l2 at the righthand end (Fig. 1) extends through the apertures of the caps and the barrel bore and has means, as a key or keys l3 driven into the barrel. to confine the spindle to rotate with the barrel, its lefthand end being threaded and fitted with a nut M; the head and nut are inset from the corresponding terminals of the spindle, which therefore serve as the swift trunnions, and bear against the caps, being more or less housed in their mentioned housings. i l

The swift hub comprises a hub section formed by the-barrel and the left-hand cap, a hub section formed by the right-hand cap and clamping means for such sections formed by the headed turning being variable by screwing the nut in or out; for this purpose resilience present in the right-hand cap is brought into effect by affording it a circumferential support on the adjoining end of the barrel well removed from the head l2, as on the bearing 3d.

, v The flange 8 of the right-hand cap has crotches Ba in the same number as the holes 5 and equally spaced around the flange, each here having a restricted mouth at the free edge of the flange- Fig. 4.

Each spoke l '5 has its inner end pivoted in the barrel section on an axis parallel with the swift axis, here by having opposed trunnions lea journaled in two of the holes 5 of the'barrel flanges, and penetrates the other section outward of its pivot, here by being received in a crotch 8a, wherefore if one hub section be turned relatively to the other each spoke will shift around its fulcrum in the barrel section and lengthwise of itself in thecrotched section.

' The clamping possible by the means i ll 2-H! might be alone relied on to hold the hub-sections in the positions in which the swift would be held against collapse, but as this would require manipulation of said means each time collapse and re-expansion were eifected I construct the swift so that an effective interlock between the hub and spokes is produced whereby the swift resists collapse independently of said means. This is accomplished by forming the spokes with portions I512 adjoining outwardly (viewing the swift in side elevation and when expanded) the crotched hub-section which are oblique all in one rotative direction relatively to the portions l5c inwardly adjoining said hub-section; the effect of this is to form by the portions I51) shoulders which under radially inward pressure by the skein on the respective spokes find support on said hub-section. If these portions 151) are curved as shown, approximately cycloidally, so that their convex sides face in said direction, collapse may not only be readily effected by turning the crotched hub-section relatively to the barrel hubsection but said shoulders will be active as described to form an effective interlock in any state to which the swift is adjusted except that in which it is fully collapsed Fig. 2. If, further, the crotches are of sufficient diameter (Fig. 4) so that, in the flexing of the spokes in said direction under the constricting force of the skein A, each spoke can frictionally engage its crotch 8a at opposite sides thereof there will be an augmenting resistance to collapse of the swift under such constricting force. It is found that the resistance to collapse set up in these ways is substantially proportionate to the, tension or constricting force of the skein. Also that the swift can nevertheless be collapsed or expanded by turning one hub section relatively to the other substantially without other resistance than that determined by the clamping action of the means ll-l2-M.

Collapse may be effected by turning one hubsection relatively to the other in either direction, but if the direction is such that the reentrant side of the angle formed by the portions l5lJ-l5c of each spoke is presented to the pivot of an adjoining spoke, as in Fig. 2, a superior extent of collapse will be possible.

The extremities. ltd of the spokes are oblique relatively to the portions I56 in a direction opposite to that in which said portions l5?) are oblique to the portions We and so that the skein-supporting portions E58 are approximately alined with the portions file, which leaves the spokes adapted to yield somewhat in response to the tension of the skein and, since the spokes are somewhat elastic, as the yarn is withdrawn from the skein and the latter tends to slacken, renders them reactive to preserve the skein tension constant.

To form each spoke I preferably use somewhat elastic (here round) wire which is shaped to form by its mid-portion the skein-supporting portion H56 flanked by the outstanding bends l5) and by its end portions two legs, each leg having the conformation defining the mentioned portions l5al5bl5cl5d and the pivot portions lea being outwardly directed. Each spoke may be stiffened by forming bends I59 in the legs projecting toward each other and binding them together by a clamp it formed by clamping the metal plate lea shown in Fig. 5 about them.

The assembly or disassembly is effected by springing the legs of each spoke together so that they and their pivots i5a may respectively enter or, leave the crotches and holes 5.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim is:

l. A swift including hub-forming means in two coaxial independently rotatable sections one of which sections presents to the other a recess penetrated by the axis of the swift and the other section bearing against such recessed section in covering relation to said recess and being elastic, means to clamp said sections together under variable clamping pressure, and skein supporting spokes each connected to both sections and movable thereby on rotation of one section relatively to the other to extend or reduce the reach of such spoke from the hub-forming means.

2. A swift including, with a hub comprising independently rotatable sections and means to maintain them in coaxial relation to each other, one section having radial openings, skein-supporting spokes respectively penetrating said openings and each pivoted in the other section in a circumference less than that occupied by said openings and on an axis substantially parallel with the hub axis, the portion of a spoke which in the expanded state of the swift is next relatively outward, forming an angle with the portion of such spoke which is next relatively inward, of said first-named section and thereby defining a shoulder to engage said first-named section in such expanded state of the swift.

3. A swift including, with a hub comprising independently rotatable sections and means to maintain them in coaxial relation to each other, one section having radial openings, skein-supporting spokes respectively penetrating said openings and each pivoted in the other section in a circumference less than that occupied by said openings and on an axis substantially parallel with the hub axis, the portion of a spoke which in the expanded state of the swift is next relatively outward, forming an angle with the portion of such spoke which is next relatively inward, of said first-named section and thereby defining a shoulder to engage said first-named section in such expanded state of the swift and being also curved in a plane through said axis.

4. A swift including, with a hub comprising independently rotatable sections and means to maintain them in coaxial relation to each other, one section having radial openings, skein-supporting spokes respectively penetrating said openings and each pivoted in the other section in a circumference less than that occupied by said openings and on an axis substantially parallel with the hub axis, the portion of a spoke which in the expanded state of the swift is next relatively outward, forming an angle with the portion of such spoke which is next relatively inward, of said first-named section and thereby defining a shoulder to engage said first-named section in such expanded state of the swift, and the spoke having a skein-supporting portion substantially alined with the first-named portion thereof.

FREDERICK KLEIN. 

